Roller-mill



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. STEVENS.

ROLLER MILL.

.No. 370,097. Patented Sept. 20, 1887.

W By .dttorneye Steven? M. PETERS. Photo-Lithographer, Wuhmglon. n c

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-,Sheet 2.

J. STEVENS.

ROLLER MILL.

No. 370,097. Patented Sept. 20, 1887.

WITJV'ESSES' 13v VEJVTOR I I @fohn Stevens By kw .dttorney,

N. PETERS. Pmmuuw m her, wmm m. o. c.

' 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

J. STEVENS.

ROLLER MILL.

Patented Sept. 20, 1887.

11v mwToR Jb/uz Ste mena- By fill? Attorney s WITJVESSES UNITED STATESJOHN STEVENS, OF NEENAH, XVISOONSIN.

ROLLER MlLL.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 370,097, dated September20, 1887.

Application filed December 4, 1882.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN STEVENS, of Neenah, in the county of Winnebagoand State of \Visconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Roller-Mills for Grinding Grain and other Materials, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In mills of said type one roll of a pair is usually mounted in movablebearings and spring-pressed toward the other or stationary roll, so asto be allowed a yielding play there from. Means are also provided todetermine the minimum limit of space between the immediate opposingsurfaces of the two rolls as the one is urged toward the other by itsspring or springs, this space varying according to the nature or stageof the reduction, and practically the rolls never being allowed to come1nto actual contact unless smooth and running at the same peripheralspeed.

Letters Patent of the United States were granted me on the 5th day ofDecember, 1882, numbered 268, 567, describing and claiming as means tothis end-that is, to limiting the approach of one roller-surface to theother-and to the further end of positively and instantaneously throwingthe movable roll away from the stationary, the employment of cams oreccentrics pivoted between the fixed and the yielding bearing blocks orboxes and pressing against the latter, each cam being provided with alever, one lever at each side of the machine, with its suitable rack.This arrange ment, while, so far as it went, a beneficial and desirableone, required the independent ma nipulation of two levers to set themovable roll for grinding or to throw it out, and in order to insure thecontinued parallelism of the opposing surfaces under such adjustmentsthe racks had to be furnished with corresponding scales ordistinguishing-marks, that the levers might be coordinately moved.Careful and accurate planing and fitting were also necessary at theoutset, that the cams might sit properly against the boxes and actequally at each end as their levers were moved from one notch to anotheralong the racks.

My present invention relates particularly to improvements upon theforegoing construction, int-ended to obviate the deficiencies named andgive greater command over the machine; and it consists in thecombination,

Serial No. 78,351. (No model.)

with stop-cams or eccentrics against which the boxes of the yieldingroll abut at each end of said roll, of a single integral forked oryokeshaped lever common to both, a suitable way along which the levermay be moved and fast ened, and an adjustable stop or dog at that end ofthe way-corresponding to the inward movement of the yielding roll,whereby the lever and the cams which it controls will be barred wheneverin the action of throwing in said roll it has been brought into thepredetermined proximity to the other, and in such other combinations asare hereinafter pointed out and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of aroller-mill as is necessary to an understanding of my invention; Fig. 2,a front View thereof; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5, details and modifications.

A is the supporting-frame of a roller-mill, provided with fixed boxes atfor the stationary roll and sliding boxes at for the movable roll, thelatter being pressed toward the former yieldingly, and otherwiseadjustably con trolled by any suitable devices, preferably in the mannerand by the mechanism indicated and explained in Letters Patentheretofore granted mefor example, Letters Patent nunr bored 230,834,August 3, 1880, and 240,282, April 19, 188lbut not necessarily so.

Above the rolls is the usual hopper, B, furnished with feed-roller andadjustable feedslides or any appropriate feed-regulator.

Lugs 0 rise from the frame-sills or bed-plate between the movable andstationary boxes at each side of the machine-that is, at each end of thepair of rolls--aud in these are pivoted cams O, as described in thehereinbeforenientioned patent, with their active facesarranged to meetand check or bar the sliding boxes as they are urged inward by-theirsprings. To these cams are riveted the arms of a forked or yoke-shapedlever, D, formed in such manner as to straddle the mill-casing, and forneatness and economy of space to fit comparatively close thereover, andhaving at the center or point ofjunction of its arms a suitable grasp orhandle, (1, whereby it may be readily raised or lowered to let theyielding roll in or throw it out. The ends of the fork or bar areadvisably bent, as shown in Fig. 1, to bring them nearly verticallybetween the boxes and allow them suitable play to effect the purpose ofthe cams, while leaving the body part and handle low down out of the wayof the feed-controlling devices on the face of the hopper, and inapproximate parallelism with the bed-plate or sills in the mostconvenient position for the use of the attendant.

When the mill-casing above the rolls is V domed, as commonly in machinesheretofore built under my patents, a rack, e, may be applied theretoimmediately beneath the levergrasp or handle, and a spring-pressed latchor-dog arranged upon the handle to takeinto the interdental spaces ofsaid rack and hold the lever fast in any given position. Since, however,it is frequently desirable to remove one or more sections of this domedcasing to gain access to the rolls beneath, this arrangement will notalways be the most feasible; nor will it be when the casing is beveledor angular. Under such circumstances the rack may be set out from thesurface of the casing and supported alone by feet bolted to thebedplate, orit may be hinged to said bed-plate, as in Fig. 8, andconfined to the lever by means of a keeper or guideway formed in or uponthe shank or handle. In the latter case it need obviously be no morethan slightly curved, or even straight, as its flexion upon the pivotwill accommodate it to the different positions of the lever.

Instead of a rack, some other way=-for instance, a fixed or hinged armor bracket, 6, such as shown in Fig. 4, or a screw-threaded rod, e as inFig. 5-can be employed; and it is intended to include any of these orequivalent forms under ,the generic term way where used in the claims.If the arm or bracket, then it will have a longitudinal slot, f, curved.or straight, according to circumstances, through which a set-screw, f,will pass into the handle of the lever, to secure the latter againstmovement. If, on the other hand ,the screw-threaded rod is used,it willpass through a suitable bore, g,in said lever-handle,

' and receive above this bore a hand-nut, g,

which may be whirled up or down to depress the lever or permit it torise. With slight changes in the mill-frame the lever can be arranged atthe under side of the bed-plate, its arms straddling the trunk or chestbeneath the rolls and bent upward instead of downward to their pivots inthe lugs on the upper face of said plate, and the cams or cam-actingends bearing against the movable boxes or against the long adjusting-screw passing therethrough, as before. A lug will then be set outfrom the bed-plate above the handle or central part of the lever toreceive a hand-screw by which to control it; or a rack or other devicesuitable for the purpose will depend from said bracket.

In starting the machine after a temporary been. As one attendant maystop the ma-v chine and another have occasion. to start it, or as it maynot be readily remembered by the proper attendant what the adjustmentwas from which the rolls were thrown out, and as carelessness is afactor always to be counted upon, it is evident that without somepositive control over the resetting of the rolls vexatious mistakes ordelays will come. I therefore propose to apply to the rack or other armalong which the lever moves and is adjusted an adjustable stop-dog, h,which, after the proper grinding distance between the rolls for anypending run has beendetermined and secured, will be set up to abutagainst the lever-handle on the inward side, so as to prevent it fromyielding at all in the sense of diminishing the distance between therolls, but of fering no obstruction to its passage in the oppositedirection to throw the rolls apart. Therefore, to accurately reset therolls after an interruption, it will be merely necessary to release thelever and throw it up against the dog, which will stop it, andconsequently the movable roll, invariably at the proper adjustment. Theshape and construction of this stop-dog will depend upon the shape orconstruction of the rack or other device along which the lever is movedand locked. In general, it will be a metallic saddle or block providedwith a clamping screw or nut. For the screw-rod in Fig. 5 it is shown asresembling a lathe-carrier inverted and clamped to the end of said rod,so as to intercept and stop the handle of the not as the latter iswhirled upward.

In practice an adjustable bearing-surface will be interposed between themovable boxes and the cams, as usual, whenever cams have been employedto throw the rolls apart. Such a surface is readily obtained byextending the long screw F (described in my aforesaid pat ents) throughthe movable box until its end bears against the cam opposed to said box,as shown,

I claim 1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth,with the stop-cams or eccentrics against which the boxes of the yieldingroll abut at each end of said roll, and with a single integral forkedlever by which they are-rigidly connected and actuated, of a suitableway along which the lever may be moved and held, and an adjustable stopor dog at that end of the way corresponding to the inward adjustment ofthe yielding roll, whereby the lever and the cams which it controls willbe barred whenever in the action of throwing in said roll it has beenbrought into the predetermined proximity to the other.

2. The combination, substantiallyas hereinbefore set forth, with thesliding boxes or, in which the movable roll is journaled, of theeccentrics O, the forked or yoke-shaped lever D, connecting botheccentrics, its central handle, d, the dog or latch co-operating withsaid handle, and the rack 0, arranged upon the its co-operating dog orlatch thereon, the rack frame beneath said handle and into which the e,and the adjustable block or stop h, for the dog takes. purposedescribed.

3. The combination, substantially as here- JOHN STEVENS. 5 inbefore setforth, of the sliding boxes a, the \Vitnesses:

eccentrics O, the integral forked lever D, con- ALEX. MONAUGHTON,necting said eccentrics, the central handle and I. SHIELLs.

